Kite skier Rob Campbell was giving me a demonstration of his sport on a windy and bitterly cold day in Millidgeville. We were out on the ice of the Kennebecasis River. We both had our skis but Rob felt it was too windy, especially for me as a first timer. Instead Rob brought out one of his smaller kites to show me how it works. He anchored the kite on the ice with a sandbag as he unwound the lines. With a pull of the line he launched the kite. It shot straight up in the air and lifted Rob a few feet off the ground and dragged him about 50 feet over the ice before he managed to dig in his heels and stop himself. That was my first introduction to kite skiing.
As the name implies, it combines a kite and downhill skis or a snowboard. The kite pulls you over the snow or ice, sometimes at breakneck speeds. Rob says the fastest he’s gone according to his GPS is 44 miles per hour. He knows of skiers who have exceeded 60 miles per hour, over 100 km per hour behind a kite. That’s just crazy.
You don’t have to go that fast though. Rob says a 20 km per hour wind is perfect, especially for beginners. I tried to meet up with Rob a couple of times to give it a try but every attempt was just too windy. I’m hoping to go before the ice becomes unsafe.
The generic name for this sport is traction kiting. You can do it on the snow with skis or snowboards. On the water it’s known as kite surfing or kite boarding. On the land you can use a modified skateboard or as Rob has, a three wheeled buggy contraption. In short, if it rolls, slides or sails it’ll work behind a kite. Rob Campbell and some
of his fellow kiting enthusiasts were hoping to set a world record a couple of weeks ago by kiting on land, water and snow all on the same day. They started out at New River Beach where they ran their buggies over the sand. Then they were supposed to put on wet suits and try kite surfing in the Bay of Fundy but again it was just too windy. Then the plan was to finish off the day by kite skiing on the Kennebecasis. Unfortunately it didn’t happen but Rob says he still intends to do it.New Brunswick is a great location for traction kiting with our access to the sea, the rivers and lakes and of course snow and ice in the winter. Rob Campbell says enthusiasts from other places would be envious of the opportunities we have here in this province. Come summer I’d like to give kite surfing a try too.
On another note, I’ve given this blog a try at rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com/. It’s been a lot of fun so far and I want to thank the people who have commented on it. I get the sense there have been quite a few visitors already. I’ll try to post new content as often as I can. Ideally I’d like to do it on a daily basis but that may difficult, at least initially. You can also read this column on the site about a week before the newspaper comes out. In addition I’m trying to include photos with the stories as often as possible and even video on occasion. For example this column about kite skiing will have some pictures accompanying it on the blog. Eventually I’d like to post schedules for planned outdoor activities by various groups in the area and around the province. I’d like to see it become the place to go online to find out what’s
going on and to publicize outdoor events and outings. If you have a hike planned for example, you could use the site to invite others to join you. So if you have any story ideas or suggestion or coming outdoor adventures you want to share, post a comment on the blog or email me directly at MidwoodMedia@gmail.com. And if you haven’t done so already check out River Valley Rambler online at rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com/
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